More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A grief-stricken daughter unhappy about her late mother’s funeral arrangements has been told to have no contact with undertaker’s staff.
Allison Wright has been fighting to get mortuary reports from Co-operative Funeralcare to satisfy herself that her mum’s requested personal belongings were buried with her.
The Walderslade resident has even pledged to have Pamela Fuller’s body exhumed from a cemetery in Chatham if she does not get the answers she wants.
Watch Allison and her sister talk about having their mum's body exhumed
Her suspicions arose when a lengthy tribunal found her wishes to have the 83-year-old mother-of-seven embalmed were not met.
She has spent months trying to track down reports from four Co-op funeral parlours which should identify which items, including her favourite brooches, had been placed in her coffin.
Mrs Wright also wants proof that her mother was dressed by a qualified person and in the clothing selected by the family.
She said: “So far I have only got two reports and, despite several attempts, I am still trying to get hold of records from Chatham and Sittingbourne.
“I just want answers, but I just keep getting fobbed off.
“Surely that’s not much to ask?”
The 52-year-old, of The Covert, and twin sister Frances Dicketts, are also distressed Mrs Fuller’s body was transferred to four different branches following her death from cancer in September 2017.
Mrs Wright is prepared to fork out £4,000 savings and go through the complex legal process of having the body dug up from the cemetery in Maidstone Road.
The grandmother, who is married to Keith, contacted the National Association of Funeral Directors, the industry regulator of which Co-op Funeralcare is a member.
An inquiry by an independent conciliation company did not give Mrs Wright the answers she says she needs for closure.
She then took it to the next stage of arbitration which found the Co-op’s documentation was “sometimes contradictory or incomplete” and “contradictions in paperwork somewhat disturbing”.
It concluded “on the balance of probability” all requested items were placed in the coffin and “the deceased was appropriately dressed by a competent person”.
Mrs Wright and Mrs Dicketts, a divorcee, of Clover Bank View, Lordswood, have pledged to carry on until they feel their issues are sorted.
In a letter to Mrs Wright, Ed Lane, head of Co-op’s operations south, said the findings of arbitration were final and legally binding.
Mr Lane said: “I would also like to take this opportunity to kindly ask you make no further contact with our colleagues in the funeral care homes, as they have also been informed to make no further comment as they are not able to assist you any further.”
Emily Penkett, spokesman for Co-op Funeralcare, said: “We are concerned Mrs Wright remains unhappy despite our thorough investigation into her complaint, which concluded via a legally binding arbitration process.”
She added that the new concern raised by Mrs Wright about outstanding reports was being looked into “as a priority”.
